Resibufogenin suppresses colorectal cancer growth and metastasis through RIP3-mediated necroptosis

BACKGROUND: Necroptotic susceptibility is probably an intrinsic weakness of cancer. Here, we report that resibufogenin, a member of bufadienolide family, suppresses the growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) through induction of necroptosis in vivo. METHODS: SW480 cells with stably expressing enhanced green fluorescence protein were xenografted to BALB/c-nu mice to observe the growth of tumors. Liver metastasis was observed by injection of MC38 cells beneath the splenic capsule of mice. Protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and western blot. RESULTS: Consolidated in vitro results indicate that resibufogenin has anti-proliferative activity on CRC cells. PI staining and transmission electron microscope imaging suggest that the cell death induced by resibufogenin are mainly through necrosis, which is further confirmed by the ineffectiveness of z-VAD, a pan-caspase general inhibitor. In particular, resibufogenin induced necrosis is substantially abrogated in receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) knockout mouse embryo fibroblasts. The RIP3-dependent necrosis has been classified as necroptosis. Resibufogenin triggeres necroptosis through upregulating RIP3 and phosphorylating mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein at Ser358. Resibufogenin also activates the expression of PYGL, GLUD1 and GLUL in a RIP3-dependent manner. Resibufogenin exerts cytotoxic effect by inducing reactive oxygen species accumulation which can be neutralized by N-acetylcysteine. Remarkably, resibufogenin significantly suppresses liver-metastasis from spleen implantation. The anti-neoplastic effect of this compound can be abrogated by RIP3 knockdown. CONCLUSION: Resibufogenin suppresses growth and metastasis of CRC through RIP3-mediated necroptosis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12967-018-1580-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.